Ripening Hearts
by asheya
Summary: A promise made by the Harvest Goddess is broken when many of the Harvest Moon towns start experiencing major troubles, leading them to an entirely new island named Maple Island. Despite living with many people they have never known in their life, friendships start to be created, rivalries are forming and love starts blossoming. And what exactly happened to the Harvest Goddess?
1. I

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harvest Moon franchise.**

Strolling through the woods, Chelsea glanced around, looking for anything valuable, such as herbs, spare lumber, or anything else that could be useful. It was the middle of summer; the forest was lush and green—trees were planted everywhere, towering above Chelsea. It was quite beautiful; however, it seemed as if something was missing.

"Nothing again," she sighed, muttering under her breath. "Really, why is there always nothing? It's so strange. I haven't seen anything in a week!"

Chelsea turned around, decided to head back to her farm. After living on Sunshine Island for more than three years, she knew the way around all of the islands. It was a hard task really; the day she moved in, she met a small Harvest Sprite. Apparently, she had to raise islands with Sun Stones, and bring back the Harvest Goddess.

Now, everything is back to normal, and she didn't have little dwarves pestering her to do tasks she never signed up for.

It has been a while since then, she kept thinking. It was now the third year of her being on this island, the heat rotting into her brain. Though, it was a crazy and strange task, thinking back, she had fun.

Stopping in front of a small house, Chelsea knocked on the door and was greeted by a pale pinkette; Natalie.

"Hey Chelsea," Natalie greeted, shutting the door as Chelsea walked in. "What are you doing here?" Some people would have been offended by the way Natalie said that, but Chelsea knew better than that; Natalie was her best friend here on this island.

"I wanted to show Taro this tomato I harvested today!" Chelsea exclaimed, taking it out of her rucksack. It was nice and plump, and was shining, showing off its great quality. "I mean, I personally think it's really well raised, but I guess I need the opinion of a professional—"

"Chelsea," Natalie interrupted, suddenly getting a look from Chelsea. Natalie looked down at the floor and turned paler than usual. "Maybe today isn't the best day. Grandad's acting… kinda strange."

"Hm, what do you mean?" Chelsea questioned, her eyebrows furrowed. Although Taro was quite strict and seemed crazy in the head at times, he really was a kind person, who tried to teach Chelsea all he knew about farming and taking care of animals. "You don't think—. " She let out a small gasp.

"He keeps saying something about a disaster," Natalie started, trailing off until she glared at her brother. "Hey Elliot! What'd he say?" Chelsea turned around and was looked at Elliot, who jumped with surprise. He sighed.

"'_The disaster is upon us, as the Goddess has failed us. She broke her pledge and has disappeared.'_ N-none of us understands but Mom just thinks he's sick or something…" Elliot quoted, not looking Chelsea in the eye.

"Maybe you should go," Natalie urged, pushing Chelsea out the door. "See ya."

* * *

><p>Gretel sighed as she sat in front of the TV, scratching her pet dog behind his ears. She had no will to sleep, not that she could, as she couldn't shake off what the fortune teller told her that day at the bazaar.<p>

She tried many times to convince herself that the fortune teller was just a fraud and was making strange things up; those didn't seem to work. Gretel tried to distract herself by talking to her villagers and busying herself with farm work; that didn't seem to work either.

_ "Thank you!" Gretel exclaimed, as she sold another one of her high quality crops. She turned her attention to the last customer waiting in line. "Sorry for the long wait, what would you like today?"_

_ After the last customer left, Gretel sighed as she closed her shop. The bazaar was bustling this week, and she couldn't understand why. Maybe because it was the middle of summer and no one had school and parents had less work._

_ Deciding to look around at the other booths, Gretel took notice of the fortune telling booth. She never really got her fortune told, as she found it a complete fraud. But something about that fortune teller pulled her in, which resulted in her sitting in the chair in front of a strange looking lady._

_ "A-anything," Gretel stuttered, as the fortune teller asked what she wished to be looked at. Gretel watched as the fortune teller laid her cards down, picking out certain ones, until she was left with one. She couldn't read it as it seemed to be in a language other than English._

_ "The disaster," the fortune teller started, her voice low and calming. "It is upon us. We are abandoned by the Harvest Goddess. Darkness will come over if we are not saved."_

_ Gretel blinked, and as she looked up again, the fortune teller was gone._

Gretel's dog whimpered, causing her to look down in surprise. She started petting it softly, whispering calming words to him.

"It's okay Auriel," she cooed, her soft voice calming the animal down. "Everything's gonna be alright…"

* * *

><p>"Mayor Rutger, I honestly don't get it," Lillian questioned, following the mayor of Bluebell as he strolled around town. "Why did you have to cancel the cooking contest on Sunday, I mean, everyone was looking forward to it and—"<p>

"Dear Lillian, do you notice anything?!" He suddenly interrupted, looking at her square in the face. "Look around you; the skies are darker, the mountain and animals aren't right," He shook his head, his eyes closed. "Now I bet you, something has happened to the Harvest Goddess!" He pointed at her wildly, trying to emphasize his point. Lillian's face scrunched up in confusion.

"She's a goddess for heaven's sake, she can't just die!" She exclaimed. "I mean she should be immortal and all!"

"Who said we were talking about death, Lillian?" Rutger responded, continuing to walk. He shook his head. "Anyways, stop talking about this nonsense. If it calls for, the Cooking Contest will be happening next week. So just calm down, go home and milk some cows or something…"

And with that, the mayor of Bluebell walked away, mumbling under his breath something about young ones always misjudging elders' intuition.

"Mayor acting crazy again?" A voice said. Turning around, Lillian saw her neighboring farmer, but also close friend, Ash.

"Don't say that Ash, he's fine in the head," she responded, looking around to make sure that Rutger wasn't near to tell them off. "I'm just a bit sad that the Cooking Contest was cancelled, that's all. No big deal," To her surprise, Ash looked confused.

"It's cancelled?"

"It's cancelled," Lillian told him, echoing his words.

"I—what? Why?" He questioned, a look of confusion etched on his face. "It was so fun, I mean, I know our two town are made up and all but it would great to bring us even closer." Lillian sighed, even Ash was on her side.

"Listen, I don't know. Rutger just refuses to listen and—"

"Ash~ Where are youuuuu?" A voice called out. A strangely familiar one… Before she knew it, Lillian was face to face with Cheryl, Ash's five year old sister. Her eyebrows were furrowed, her hands tightly balled into fists. "Get away from my brother! Let's go Ash, hmph."

She watched as the little girl walked away with her big brother. Ash was waving sympathetically at Lillian, as if he was sorry. She couldn't help but smile at their strange, yet cute relationship.

All of those thoughts disappeared when she thought back to what the Mayor said.

Lillian looked up at the sky, over the mountains. She didn't want to admit it, but the Mayor was right. Something was strangely off about the place they called their home. Walking up the mountain, she somehow wound up in front of the Harvest Goddess Pond.

Looking around, she ended up finding a wild flower that she though the Goddess would like, and she threw it into the pond.

Lillian waited.

And waited.

And continued waiting.

Nothing happened.

Lillian stared into the pond, seeing nothing other than her own reflection.

* * *

><p>A scream rippled through the town, as villagers started running towards the Goddess Pond. Wave after wave kept crashing into the shore of the beach, and they started to get bigger and bigger until Mayor Thomas declared a total evacuation, asking help from the Harvest Goddess.<p>

As the villagers gathered around the pond, Mayor Thomas threw in a strawberry as an offering, asking for the help of the Goddess. To Ann's surprise, no one came up with an annoying 'dum da da'. In fact, no one appeared at all.

"What happens now!?" Claire, the local farmer, screamed on the top of her lungs. Everyone, including Mayor Thomas, was at a loss. All they could do was wait for the waves to get them.

Suddenly, a villager screamed, causing everyone to look up; a giant wave was about to crash right into them. They couldn't do anything anymore; they couldn't run nor could they hide. All they could do was face their fate.

Right then, before anyone could move, Ann closed her eyes and waited for the wave to crash into them.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe we made it…" Angela said to particularly no one, panting hard. "I can't believe it…" Her hands were on her knees, and she was heavily breathing, bent over. Taking a seat on one of the benches on the boat, she tried to recollect what happened.<p>

The island just started… shaking. There was no other way to describe it.

Her train of thought was interrupted when someone hit her back, coming out of nowhere, and handed her a water bottle.

"Oh c'mon, you're so weak Angie!" She looked up. It was Luke, her first friend on the island. He was smiling, though she noticed beads of sweat on his forehead.

It made sense though. The forest was pretty far from the dock, meaning those they had to run further. Once the island started to shake, it was emergency procedure to board onto the ship Pascal was steering.

Angela offered a sympathetic smile at him before taking the water bottle in her hand.

"Oh please Luke, not all of us are lumberjacks," she replied, rolling her eyes with a small smile on her face. He smiled back. She downed half the water bottle in a flash, and started dabbing her forehead with a towel. "But really, what _was _that…?" In response, Luke just shrugged.

"I don't even know. I've been on this island for goddess knows how long, and this is the first time anything has ever happened," he told her. This was rare, Luke being serious… for once! He turned to face her. "In fact, I didn't even know that there was an emergency protocol! What's an emergency protocol anyways?"

Despite the situation, Angela couldn't help but burst out into laughter. The baby look of confusion on Luke's face was just too funny to _not laugh._

"Hello you lovebirds," a third voice said. The pair looked up to be greeted by Angela's twin sister, Molly. She had a mischievous look on her face, something that Angela has never seen before in her life. Strange.

"Hey Molly!" Luke greeted energetically, like always. He, of course, was oblivious.

"Funny, Mo," Angela said dryly, turning back around to drink some more water from her bottle.

"Only for you Ang," Molly replied cheerfully, plopping in between Luke and Angela on the bench. "Anyways, I overheard Mayor Hamilton talking. To be honest," her voice lowered down, almost into a whisper, as Angela strained to hear. "He doesn't really know what he's doing,"

Silenced engulfed the trio.

"B-But he's Mayor…" Angela stammered, unsure of what to think of the situation. "He _should _know what he's doing."

"He should, but he doesn't know. I mean, who would really expect something like this to happen?" Molly spoke softly, not wanting anyone else to overhear.

Unsure of what to think of the events, Angela looked at Luke. For once, he was silent.

Jill silently screamed to herself, unsure of what to think of the day's past events. She was just fishing at the beach when she thought to herself that the waves seemed to be getting bigger… and bigger… and bigger. And then, she ran.

All the villagers managed to safely evacuate out the valley and into the city. And from the city, they all somehow managed to get on a boat, leading to goddess knows where. Everyone was quiet, frozen with shock, probably, at what happened at the place they called their home. Luckily, Vesta managed to start taking charge, probably due to the request of Celia, and the fact that she was probably one of the loudest and most straightforward people in the valley.

"Hey… Jill," a familiar voice said. Jill looked up and saw her friend, Lumina. She took a seat next to her. There were no words being exchanged, but somehow, Jill knew that they were both thinking the same thing. About where they were going, what would happen next.

At the front, she could faintly see the outline of Vesta talking to the captain of the boat, probably instructing him to go somewhere, or maybe him telling her where he was taking them. No one knew exactly what was going to happen. Even the Witch Princess seemed deep in thought, acting more strangely than usual. Where was the Harvest Goddess when you need her?

"Okay guys, listen up," a loud voice boomed, causing everyone, including Jill, to look up at Vesta. "I've talked things out with the captain of the ship. Lucky for us, Takakura happens to be friends with some old man named Yam,"

"Taro…" Jill heard Takakura mumble under his breath.

"And he's also the Mayor of Sunlight Islands!" Vesta continued, not seeming to have heard Takakura.

"Sunshine…" He said quietly.

"So we'll be heading there now for the time being, while we try to get Forget-Me-Not Valley fixed up. That's all!" And with that, Vesta took a seat next to Celia. Before Jill could even process what Vesta had told them, Lumina started to talk.

"I'm actually kind of excited!" She whispered excitedly to Jill. "I mean we get to meet new people and all, and we can just stay in the hotel for now, I guess," Her eyes trailed off to her grandparents, the richest family in the Valley.

"Yeah, I guess…" Jill really didn't have anything else to say. She didn't know how she even felt about the incident at the Valley, much less how she felt about going to Sunshine Islands. But it was their only option, so they had to go unless they wanted to swim and live in the sea.

Majority of the boat ride consisted of mostly quiet shuffling and whispering, no one daring to talk about the incident that took place at Forget Me Not Valley. Before she even knew it, Jill managed to doze off, and was shook awake an hour or so later.

"Hey, Jill," a soft voice said, making Jill stir. When she managed to fully open her eyes, she saw Celia, another one of her close friends, in front of her. "We're here now, though it's a bit…." She never finished her sentence. Jill stood up, looking around the deck. "Come this way," Celia guided.

As Jill followed Celia, she realized that every other villager has departed from the boat. She followed her friend until they walked off the ship, and onto another.

"H-Hey, Celia, we, uh—"Jill started, confusion dawning over her.

"I know what you're thinking. But you'll figure out what's going on sooner or later," was all Celia responded with. The pair silently walked on, until they reached a gigantic room, filled with villagers from Forget Me Not Valley and other unidentifiable faces.

"Okay, that should be all!" A short, old man said. He was dressed in blue overalls, an angry look on his face. "Well, if you guys do not know, my name is Taro! The Mayor of Sunshine Islands!" Despite his small stature, he has a loud voice, yelling as if he couldn't even hear himself. "Anyways! Disaster has hit Sunshine Island, so we fled to this ship as a last resort, courtesy of Will,"

A blond boy smiled, one that looked practiced.

"I have heard that something similar has happen to your people, so we've decided to face this challenge together! Although," the mayor's voice softened, as he stopped yelling. "We really don't know where we're headed, but I'm sure we'll figure something out! Just take this time to relax,"

It seemed as if the boat ride was taking forever. The silence was suffocating, Jill not daring to make a sound. It was as if she made any noise, she would be thrown overboard into the freezing waters. And she did _not _have swimming with the sharks listed on her bucket list.

Panic arose when a loud noise was heard, the right side of the ship screaming.

"What's going on!?" A female shouted, her red bandana getting undone. Her face was filled with shock as she looked out the window. Her face suddenly changed, filled with amazement. "T-There's an island!" She shouted. "An actual island!"

Voices were heard, people were shouting. They were all amazed. Maybe they _had _found a place to stay.

* * *

><p>"Dunhill, there's a ship!" Tina, a flouncy female who looked fifteen, shouted, as she ran onto the property of Rachel's new farm. Both Dunhill's and Rachel's heads turned to the girl, as they were in the middle of a conference about her farm.<p>

"Bring us to it, Tina," Rachel responded, before Dunhill could even open his mouth. Though, it seemed as if Dunhill was thinking the same thing, as he shut up immediately and started following the journalist to the edge of the island.

Rachel wasn't going to lie; the island was _gigantic._It took several minutes for the trio to even reach the end of the island, and they were jogging as well. This island was particularly new to the villagers of Echo Village. A disaster has struck Echo Village, causing Dunhill to have them relocate here. They have only been here for a few hours, before Tina came to tell them about the ship.

As soon as Rachel saw the ship, she sucked in a breath. The ship was literally bigger than her house, intricate designs carved on the structure of the boat. Rachel literally could not stop staring at it, her gaze only broken when a tiny old man walked off the boat.

"I am sorry to have intrude on your town," He said, his voice shrill and high.

"No worries," Dunhill responded, though he did seem quite confused due to the new arrivals.

"Hey, who are they?" A voice asked. Rachel turned around, and was face to face with one of her closest friends, Rod. Rachel gave him a shrug, unsure of how to respond.

"Maybe they got lost at sea, or something?" Rachel replied, the only logical explanation she could come up with. Well it wasn't like she was that logical anyways. Rachel was always more of a gut feeling type of person. She just didn't want to tell Rod what she was thinking, in fear that she was going to be shunned, though it wasn't like Rod was the type of person to think she was stupid.

"Disaster has struck upon our two towns," The old man continued, walking off the ship. Behind him were villagers, probably, a look of confusion and amazement on their faces. "Forget Me Not Valley, and Sunshine Island. We have nowhere else to go. We—"The old man was cut off by Dunhill, pulling out a little scroll from his pocket.

"As well as us, Echo Village. I have found this," Dunhill interrupted, unrolling the scroll. All Rachel did was look at Rod with amazement.

"Have you ever seen that thing before?" She asked, bewildered at the mysterious scrolled object. Rod just shook his head. It seemed as if more people were gathering around the new boat, as well as Dunhill. He started to read.

"_The Harvest Goddess has fallen, promises broken. Treat this island as your new home, and welcome any unknown visitors venturing in the seas. Signed, the Harvest King," _

Mumbles were heard through the villagers, their faces etched with looks of confusion and fear. All Rachel did was look at Rod, giving him a look of confusion. Rod just gave her an equally confused look back. Despite the mumblings, none of the mayors spoke. Dunhill broke the silence.

"You heard the Harvest King. This island is gigantic." He said, a small smile forming on his face. "Welcome to your new home,"

**A/N: Hey! This is my third time rewriting this fic, but I really can't get over this plot idea. I've polished it so much that I hope this is good for you all. I honestly look back and cringe at the old versions of this story. Honestly. So here is the new and improved version, 3.0! **

**Note: I honestly do not know how big Will's yacht is, but for the purpose of the story, let's just say it's gigantic.**

**Another Note: Hero of Leaf Valley will not be included in this fic.**

**Another Note: You might think this is way too many towns, and I'm not going to lie, it is way too many towns. But I'm planning to only focus on maybe 3-5 main characters, even though there will be tons of characters all over the place.**

**Thanks for reading! **


	2. II

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Harvest Moon franchise or its characters.

* * *

><p>Ann woke up with a start, her eyes widening. She quickly glanced around the room, unsure of where she wounded up. The last thing she could remember was a gigantic wave. And then, nothing. She quickly got out of the bed, and before she knew it, crashed down onto the floor, her legs tanged in the blanket.<p>

"Gosh darn it," she mumbled to herself, trying to get free from the blanket.

"Oh my, dear, are you alright?" A voice came from the door, causing Ann to look up, flustered for being caught in such a strange situation. She seemed to be an old woman, her grey-purple pigtails hanging behind her. The next thing she noticed was a tray, with a steaming hot dish on it. _Food._

"Perfect!" Ann exclaimed, giving the woman a thumbs up, when she finally freed herself from the wrath of the blanket. She stood up and waved to the woman. "I'm Ann!" The old woman smiled, walking into the room and placing the tray onto a small nightstand before speaking.

"I'm Yolanda, one of the cooks at the Ocarina Inn," she introduced. Though she was old, she seemed like she had spirit. Ann decided that she liked Yolanda already. "Though, I didn't make this. It was another chef that worked at the inn."

"Oh?" Ann questioned, inspecting the porridge that was on the nightstand. It look well-cooked enough, and hopefully, wasn't poisoned. She turned back to Yolanda, who responded with a nod.

"Yes, it was cooked by Chase," Yolanda explained. Ann had never heard of him. "A great cook, he really is! Anyways, I suppose you'll be wondering where your other friends and neighbors are, yes. Here, I'll get Mayor Thomas," The old lady left the room, leaving Ann alone with the porridge.

Ann took a seat down on the bed, lifting the porridge in her hands. She really didn't want to eat it, as she didn't even know these people! Of course, Yolanda was nice, but she didn't even know a Chase. It could be poisoned for all she knew.

But she couldn't help it. The porridge smelled too good, its scent wafting around the room, as if it itself was trying to get Ann to eat. She tried to hold back the urge to eat it, and in the end she just couldn't take it.

"Just a bite," Ann muttered to herself, as if she was trying to make herself feel better. "A small one, it can't be that bad."

As soon as she put a spoonful in her mouth and swallowed, she couldn't help but widen her eyes, the taste of the porridge inching to every part of her stomach. After a second, she took another spoon of the porridge, and another, until the whole bowl was finished, and she placed it back on the nightstand.

She suddenly heard two knocks on the door, followed by the town nurse, Elli, entering the room. She was wearing her usual white-blue dress, except it seemed as if it were wet. Maybe by the tsunami.

"Hey Elli!" Ann greeted enthusiastically, despite their current situation. Elli gave small smile, sitting down on a chair next to the bed. "So what's with the boat and stuff?" Elli sighed, and started to talk.

"Luckily for us, this boat found us. After the wave hit, I was still conscious, so I remember very clearly," Elli started to explain, looking very concerned. "Literally, out through the cave near the Goddess Pond, there was an ocean, and this boat found us. They're such nice people…" Elli ended off with another sigh. There was a silence between the two. "Apparently, they're from a place called Castanet."  
>"I think I've heard of them," Ann interrupted, finally speaking up for the first time after hearing the story.<p>

"As well as I. Apparently, their island has sunk under the water… They've asked the Harvest Goddess for help, and they have boarded this ship. They have intended to look for a new home. Currently, Mayor Thomas and Mayor Hamilton, the mayor of Harmonica Town, are talking about a few things." Elli stood up, and placed a hand on Ann's forehead.

"Anyways, you're burning up. You should stay in bed, and you really shouldn't go exploring." Elli directed strictly, picking up the tray with the empty bowl.

"But—"

"Your dad's fine, don't worry. He's just resting in the other room, with some of the other villagers. We just give you the smallest room to fit your size," Elli joked, giggling. Ann just stared blankly at Eli.

"Funny," she responded. Elli stopped laughing, shaking her head.

"I'll be back soon with medicine," Elli informed, before closing the door. Ann waited for just a second before hopping out of bed and opening the door. Of course when Elli told her to stay in bed because she was sick, she decided to do just the opposite.

Walking out of her room, she looked at the strange interior of the ship. It wasn't weird, it was just different, as she had never been on a boat before. Maybe once to get to Mineral Town but that was it. And she was little, so she didn't remember much of it.

Ann decided to just walk around the ship. It was pretty strange; she hasn't seen a single person since she got out of her room. Maybe they just all abandoned her there and jumped off or something. Oh, what was she saying, of course not!

Her footsteps suddenly slowed as she heard the familiar voice of Mayor Thomas in a room, as the door was slightly open. Taking a few, light footsteps closer to the door, she quieted down her breathing, trying to hear what the mayors were saying.

"Well, we could head over to Forget Me Not Valley? I mean, I know that town quite well, and I'm sure they wouldn't be against our visit!" Mayor Thomas said. Ann remembered Forget Me Not Valley. She used to visit there every Friday, and helped out at the inn. Though, recently, she had stopped visiting as more and more tourists were coming to Mineral Town.

"That would be great! Except… Forget Me Not Valley has had a disaster as well, I'm afraid," an unfamiliar voice responded. Was this the mayor of Harmonica Town, the one that Elli was talking about?

"Ah, that's horrible!" Ann could just imagine Mayor Thomas jumping up and down, waving his arms wildly. "So what are we going to—"

"Psst. What are you doing?" A girl asked, causing Ann to jump, startled by her sudden appearance. She had silver hair, layered nicely, though on the top of her head was witch's hat. It wasn't Halloween, was it? She laughed at the confused look on Ann's face before pulling the door open and strutting into their little conference.

Both of the mayors turned in surprise, unsure of why a girl wearing a witch's hat was interrupting their meeting. Ann peeked into the room.

"Uh, hello Witch. What brings you here?" Mayor Hamilton asked, looking as if he didn't know how to talk to the witch in company. Was her name actually Witch?

"Well! I overheard your little dilemma!" She announced loudly, her hands on her hips. "Unlike you two dimwits, _I've_ been talking to my friend who oh-so happens to be at a new island!"

Now _that_ got the two's attention, as well as Ann's. All three of them stared at the Witch, hoping for more information.

"Interested now, are ya?" She said smugly. "Well, she's from Forget Me Not Valley and apparently, they've moved to this gigantic island! And that it'd be nice if they had more villagers and stuff."

"Well, where is this island? Do tell!" Mayor Hamilton exclaimed excitedly, flapping like a seagull. Ann couldn't help but supress a giggle at his excitement.

"And what do you think you're doing?" A voice said, coming from behind Ann. Ann didn't even have to turn. It was Elli. In that split second, Ann started to make a run for it, though she was pulled back by Elli.

"Wow, you have faster reflexes than I thought!" Ann complimented, amazed by her speed. Though, that didn't seem to cheer Elli up.

"Come with me!" She said to her, pulling Ann's wrist as she marched back to her room. But really, she didn't want to lounge around her room any longer. It was dreadfully boring.

"Where's Dad?" Ann asked, desperately trying to get out of going to her room.

"In the kitchen, he's done resting," Elli responded, without stopping. "He's making food,"

"I want to help!" Ann exclaimed, perking up. Cooking was one of her all-time favorite things to do, especially when she was cooking for a large group of people.

"No way! You're sick!"

"I'm not going to get other people sick, I promise!"

"Nope. You're going straight to bed, Ann,"

"Can I at least _see _my dad? Please?" Elli hesitated, before finally giving it.

"Fine. Just for a short amount of time though," Elli said slowly. Ann started to follow Elli who was leading them to another part of the boat, where she started to smell her dad's delicious pasta. At least she got to eat that while was she was stranded on this foreign boat.

Entering the kitchen, she noticed that her dad wasn't the only one cooking. There was also Yolanda from earlier, as well as an unfamiliar blond-pink haired male. She then noticed a girl sitting sullenly on a chair, sitting in front of what seemed be untouched pasta.

She seemed to have noticed Ann come into the kitchen, though she did not brighten.

"Hey," she greeted, not breaking her stare at the cooks.

"Is… there a problem?" Ann questioned, curious about her depressed state. The girl finally looked at Ann, her eyes with a glimmer of hope.

"See Grandma!" The girl exclaimed, pushing her chair back and standing. She pointed at Ann. "She cares about my happiness! She notices how sad I am!" Ann, with a confused face, looked from the strange girl to Yolanda, unsure of what she was even talking about.

"I was just—"Ann tried to explain, but only got cut off.

"Oh please Maya, sit back down," another voice interrupted, the sarcasm noticeable. It was the peach haired male. "You're going to end up poisoning everyone on this boat,"

"That's not true!" Maya shouted back, her hands tightly balled into fists. "I've improved since last time, I promise!"

"Now Maya, you know there isn't enough room in the kitchen," Yolanda intervened, shaking her head.

"Then just take Chase out," another voice replied. Ann turned around and saw another girl, one she didn't notice before. "He can just eat his oranges or something off break, and do whatever he does,"

"Stay out of this Molly," Chase snapped back, taking out a pan from the cupboard. "Why are you trying to get her to cook when you yourself know very well you'll probably die from her food?" Out of the corner of Ann's eye, she noticed Molly hesitate.

"Well—"

"Enough of this nonsense," Yolanda announced loudly. "Maya, you will not cook until we dock and have a proper kitchen," Maya groaned loudly, sitting back down on her seat, glumly eating her pasta. She realized that her dad said nothing during that fiasco, solely concentrating on cooking dishes for the villagers.

"Sorry for that… thing," Molly apologized, laughing nervously.

"There's nothing to be sorry for!" Maya exclaimed, taking a bite of her pasta.

"It's okay," Ann said. "I would hate it if I weren't allowed to cook either!"

"Oh, you cook!?" Maya questioned, her eyes filling up with excitement yet again.

"Yeah, it's great!" Ann was nervous that Maya would cause another commotion again. Luckily, nothing happened.

"That's amazing!" Maya jumped out of her seat, twirling around. She grabbed both of Ann's hands. "None of the other girls are into cooking. Well, Angela sort of is but she's always hanging out of Luke or Kathy!"

"Great for you guys," Chase's sarcastic voice called out. "Now can you please _leave, _this is not a coffee shop,"

"Chase!" Elli scolded, speaking up for the first time. All Chase did was roll his eyes and then he went back to cooking.

"Uh, I'll leave, I mean I'm sick anyways," Ann told them, slowly backing out of the room. Maya seemed nice and all, but she didn't want to be stuck with someone so ditzy. "Bye Dad!" She called out, before dashing out of the kitchen, and back to her room.

* * *

><p>Rachel winced as the shrill laughter of the Witch Princess echoed through the valley. The Witch Princess was a mysterious being, really. She would stay in a town for a while, and when she got sick of it, she would go to another town.<p>

"As if the house I built her was a vacation home," Rachel muttered, crossing her arms. The Witch Princess wasn't her favorite person.

"I'm sorry, what?" The Witch Princess said rudely. "I was just trying to tell you _I've _gotten two villages to come here to Maple Oak Island, and I'm sorry, what have _you _done?" Everyone turned to look at Rachel. They were currently having an emergency meeting to decide what they would do about the gigantic island and what the future of it would be.

"I've been farming to make help bring more business to Maple Oak Island," Rachel told her.

"Yeah, nice and all, but I think we've all got to agree that I've done the best job so far!" Witch Princess exclaimed, a smug smile on her face. "And plus it's been three days Rachel, I doubt you shipped anything so far," All Rachel did was roll her eyes in the face of a mystical being.

"Glad that's over," Rod sighed, as he walked out of the building with Rachel. She had to nod in agreement. Those were probably the most boring two hours she had ever spent in her life. It had turned dark outside, the fireflies starting to come out.

"I'm just a bit… suspicious, that's all," Rachel responded, her finger tapping her chin.

"Oh? Of who?"

"The Witch Princess." Rachel accused, unable to shake off a bad feeling. "Since when was she this nice? She's acting all mean and stuff, but she's doing all these good deeds and they're making me feel nervous," Rod stopped walking and burst out in laughter. "What? I'm being serious here!" All Rod did was shake his head, poking Rachel in the forehead.

"You look so cute when you think like that, it's hilarious," he told her between laughs, unable to stop. All Rachel did was roll her eyes.

"It's not that funny you know," Rod finally regained his posture, and started to walk again.

"Anyways, the Witch Princess isn't that mean of a person!" Rod defended, though he was still chuckling. "She may act mean, but she's nice on the inside, I promise,"

"And you know this, how?" Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"I've talked to her once or twice…"

"Uh-huh, okay then. Apparently, now you can detect people's personalities just by talking to them once or twice," Rachel teased. Before Rod could even open his mouth to respond, another person appeared out of nowhere, slinging his hand around Rod's neck.

"Ahhh, Rod, my man," he greeted, ignoring Rachel to the fullest. It was Allen, the town's arrogant, red-headed hairstylist.

"Yeah, greetings to you too," She said to him, giggling.

"Ah, yes, you, Rod's friend, hello," He responded, his hand still around Rod's neck.

"I've known you for _four _years," Rachel exclaimed. "You know my name!" Allen just waved her off, walking away from the dumbstruck blonde.

"Now Rod, I can't seem to find that cat I bought from you," she overheard Allen saying to Rod.

"Have you checked its bed?" Rachel yelled, walking in the opposite direction. He was not worth her time, she decided.

"Great idea Rod, thanks!" Allen patted Rod's shoulder, before dashing off. Rachel laughed at Allen as she walked off back into the comfort of her own home, safe from all distractions.

* * *

><p>Angela shrieked as she was pushed, narrowly missing the entrance to the men's bathroom.<p>

"You are so childish!' She shouted, lightly hitting Luke on the shoulder, who was dying of laughter.

"If you were as mature as you thought, you wouldn't have screamed!" Luke exclaimed, trying to dodge Angela's hits. "Stop wasting our time Angela, we're going to be late!" They were headed to the deck of the ship, as the two Mayors claimed that they knew exactly what they were doing. Angela doubted that Mayor Hamilton came up with the idea, but anything sufficed. She was sick of being at sea for so long.

"Oh please, you're the one making us late, you idiot!" She teased, now laughing just as hard as the other.

"Why don't you two just get married already?" A third voice popped in. It was Kathy, the inn's blonde waitress. "The sexual tension is suffocating; I feel like the third wheel here," Luke just laughed, oblivious to the fact that Kathy wasn't joking.

"Me and Angela? That's funny!" Luke was sincerely laughing at the joke, as well as Angela. "We're just friends, trust me,"

"A boy and girl can't be _just _friends, it doesn't work that way," another voice intervened. Turning around, they found themselves looking at Molly. She had her infamous mischievous smirk on her face.

"Oh no, let's leave, she's here," Angela said, speeding up. Molly, being used to Angela's ways, knew better.

"It's okay, I know you show your love that way!" She shouted, as Angela and Luke walked ahead. "I love you too Big Sis!"

"Embarrassing," Angela muttered, though, loud enough for Luke to hear.

"At least you know she loves you," Luke teased, and Angela shook her head.

"Or maybe she's lying, who knows," Angela shrugged, as she looked back at Kathy and Molly.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she does," Luke responded, pushing the door open. The sun was bright and hot that day; it was the peak of summer. Angela lifted her hand up to block the sun's rays from going into her face, and she could just _feel_ her arm tanning. Luke, as usual, was enjoying the sun. He was a lumberjack; he was used to the stupid sun shining on his skin.

"Alright, at last, everyone is here!" Mayor Hamilton exclaimed, with a big smile on his face. Beside him was Mayor Thomas, the mayor of Mineral Town. Angela couldn't help but realize the uncanny similarities between Mayor Hamilton and Mayor Thomas; both giddy, short mayors with a round body. "We have found our new home!"

At that sentence, people started to talk. Most of them were worried about Mayor Hamilton's claims of finding a new island, and were worried that it was something extremely weird or dangerous.

"Now, now," Mayor Thomas' voice rang, quieting down the whispers in the crowd. "We promise, it's going to be great! And there are already some buildings and villagers on the island. The Harvest God told us himself to go to this island," He finished, standing proud and tall, as if he actually talked to the Harvest God.

"There it is!" A voice, Angela recognized as Phoebe, shouted. Heads turned to look. The first thing that Angela noticed was that the island was gigantic.

"That will be our new home, huh," Angela said quietly, only loud enough for Luke to hear.

"Seems extreme!" He shouted, filled with excitement. "That place is gigantic!"

"Well at least someone's excited for the two of us," She responded dully.

"Aww, c'mon Ang, lighten up!" Luke said, still gaping at the island. "Is it because of Stella?"

"No, why would I—"

"I know you were fond of her. It's okay, she's in a better place now,"

"Are you implying I neglect my dog!?"

"Maybe,"

"Well you suck,"

"No need to be mean," Luke pretended to be hurt, and Angela stuck out her tongue at him, crossing her arms.

"You married couple!" Kathy's voice rang from the other side of the boat, causing Angela to shake her head.

"You are not funny!" Angela screamed back, groaning.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I wonder how half of the towns don't even have exits, does the Mayor just trap them there forever? Asheya, asking the important questions of life. I apologize if the ToT/AP characters go OOC, I actually have never played those games before... I just base what I know off videos / fanfics / wiki pages, haha. But they probably have one of my favorite casts so... Anyways, I hope you guys had a superb New Year's with family and friends! Thank you for the views and the reviews I got, I appreciate it! I wish for 2015 to be full of happiness and laughter. Thanks for reading~


End file.
